Overview & Reviews

Kia Motors is a South Korean automaker that's relatively new to the United States. In its early years, Kia largely catered to budget-minded consumers with well-equipped vehicles priced below competing models. More recently, this growing brand has kept value a priority while also emphasizing technology and sportiness.

Founded in Korea in 1944, Kia started as a producer of steel tubing and bicycle parts. The company's name has its roots in the Chinese language, and means "to arise, to come up out of Asia." By the early 1950s, the company had produced Korea's first bicycle; by the latter part of the decade, Kia had branched out into motor scooters, with the rollout of the C100.

The 1960s saw Kia expanding its lineup to include motorcycles and three-wheeled cargo vehicles. Naturally, the next logical step was automobile production, and the company began moving in this direction in the early 1970s. By 1973, Kia had built a facility designed to make its automotive dreams a reality; its Sohari plant held the distinction of being Korea's first fully integrated automobile production facility, and went on to spawn Korea's first internal-combustion gasoline engine. A year later, Kia unveiled the Brisa, Korea's first passenger car. By the end of the decade, Kia's technology was being used to manufacture vehicles like the Peugeot 604 and the Fiat 132.

By the late '80s, Kia's lineup included new models like the Concord, Capital, Potentia and Pride. In 1987, Ford brought the Pride to U.S. shores, rebadging it as the Ford Festiva. Seven years later, Ford dealers got a replacement for the entry-level, subcompact Festiva in the form of another Kia constructed product, the Aspire.

Kia finally began selling vehicles in the U.S. under its own name in the early '90s, trumpeting its presence with the introduction of the compact Sephia. The car's rollout was gradual; in the early days of its production, the Sephia was only available in select Western states. By the mid-'90s, SUVs had emerged as a phenomenally popular and profitable vehicle segment. Kia responded with the 1995 Sportage, a compact SUV. By the end of the '90s, Kia's nationwide rollout was nearly complete.

Financial difficulties in the late '90s prevented Kia from expanding its lineup beyond those two models. Hyundai, South Korea's other major automaker, acquired the company in a merger in 1998.

Kia has been on a major upswing since its purchase by Hyundai, with improvements in build quality, performance and overall refinement. Reliability, previously a weak point, has also improved markedly and consumers' confidence was further bolstered by Kia's substantial warranty program. Today, Kia is on a dramatic upswing and offers a broad lineup of well-built coupes, sedans and crossovers that stand out for their value, performance and sporty styling.

User Reviews:

• 

  Awesome car! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By Cal Sam - July 17 - 11:13 pm

  Never thought I would own a Kia like a lot of others have said, but when we test drove it we fell in love with it. Have put almost 3,000 miles on it, and have enjoyed every minute of it. The bluetooth is a neat feature, and we got 42 mpg on a recent road trip. Seats are comfortable, trunk is large, and it looks great!

• 

  Bye Bye Kia - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By Bri - July 17 - 5:10 am

  Well, I owned this car for 11 months and totaled it a couple weeks ago. Overall I enjoyed the Spectra5, and it did pretty well with a rear collision at 50 mph. Pushed me into another car, so both the front and back ends got it, but neither crumpled that far. Safety-wise it did pretty good. The driver seat during the collision slid to the back and put me into a reclining position. Strange, but not a serious fault in my opinion. So, good on safety, brakes stopped me, but the Civic behind me... not so much.

• 

  A Bad Choice - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By audio - July 15 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle are a sad excuse for a SUV. It is not reliable nor does it have a resale value. The vehicle repair costs are as high as my Land Rover. Have had overheating problems... it eats brakes...has no power... and the cupholder is a bad joke. The 4WD kicks out when needed...the fuel economy is poor given it is such a small motor. The rear hatch is hard to open... takes 2 hands. The body dings easily.

• 

  excellent - 2004 Kia Optima
  By aorzo - July 15 - 10:00 am

  Alot of car for the money

• 

  Many problems in the beginning - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By lilteddy78 - July 15 - 10:00 am

  When we first recieved the van we were ok until we hit 700 miles. The check engine light came on and would not go off even with the dealer working on it. It took 6 dealer attempts to finally fix it. Then the passenger window came loose. Then the horn would not work. We finally have a working van after 4 months of having it. I am not impressed with the gas mileage. I get below 15mpg even with freeway driving. I think the highest Ive gotten was 17mpg and Im not sure how I did that. Overall nice van but would like them to improve the gas mileage!

• 

  Skeptical at first, not now! - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By hb4bama - July 15 - 2:23 am

  Love this car. Was a little scared to purchase a Kia, not now, I love it. Read that the fuel efficiency wasnt too good, have taken it on two trips now and averaged over 400 miles to one tank. I love this car so far. Would recommend to anyone.

• 

  Mileage Claims - 2013 Kia Optima
  By jake809 - July 14 - 10:14 pm

  Dont know how heavy footed some of the reviewers are, but Im averaging about 32.5mpg combined. My commute is 35 miles each way, about 1/3 suburban, 1/3 highway and 1/3 city. I regularly use cruise control on the highway, but do not use the ECO control (doesnt seem to help). I used to use my wifes Grand Cherokee on the weekends when I had my Honda Civic, but this one is too comfortable to give up on those 2 days.

• 

  Great Vehicle - 2007 Kia Sportage
  By Dr Dan - July 14 - 6:06 pm

  Purchased my KIA about 3 weeks ago. Looks, runs and performs great. I am getting 25mpg. Better than my 02 Cougar with no a/c. Great college student auto. Good room, front and back. Love the 5 yr. warranty. Go buy one today!!

• 

  You get what you pay for - 2012 Kia Optima
  By giantsfan58 - July 14 - 7:29 am

  I bought a fully loaded 2012 Optima EX in Feb. 2012. I noticed soon after buying it that the leg room is very tight. My leg was constantly jammed up against the speaker in the drivers door. The seats are sharply molded and hard. The transmission went out at 13,000 miles. Recently, I noticed an issue with the steering. While driving down the freeway, the car would begin drifting right or left. When you go to correct it, there is a "catch" in the electronic steering. If you do a search for this you will see many others have had this problem. The real world MPG is nowhere near what thet advertise. This car has a ton of bells and whistles and is great looking, but buyer beware.

• 

  Cant Be Beat for the Price - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By lhartford03 - July 14 - 1:30 am

  I have found my Kia to be very reliable. Few mechanical problems (I keep up on maintenance). Good pick up for a 4 cyl - I have 5 speed version. Overall, the car has gone above and beyond what I would have expected for the price.